Puff Pastry

Also known as pâte feuilletée.

There are many recipes for “quick” puff pastry, with a food processor – but this one turns out nicer.  It is based on an old post from my favorite food blog   (she’s since moved and is now )

You make two doughs, and then role them together.  The first is the outter dough – détrempe.  The second is the inner dough, which is mostly butter, buerre manié.

1.0 outter dough – détrempe

Ingredients:

• ²⁄₃ cup       ________________ water
• 1   tsp ________________ salt (sea salt, or kosher.  Dissolve in the water)
• 1   tsp ________________ sugar (Dissolve in the water) (leave out if making something savory with it)
• 113 grams ________________ butter (1 stick) (Melted and cooled)
• 360 grams ________________ all purpose flour (just under 3 cups)

Instructions:

• Melt the butter, and let it cool.
• Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water.
• In a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, mix the flour and melted butter till it has a sandy texture.
• Add the water, and beat till it forms a dough.
• Dump the dough out and pat it into a rectangle, about the size of a piece of paper and about a half inch thick, wrap with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge while you make the inner dough.

1.1 inner dough – buerre manié

Ingredients:

• 125 grams ________________ flour (1 cup)
• 340 grams ________________ butter (3 stick) (cubed)

Instructions:

• In the same bowl you used before, start beating the butter, for a few minutes, till it’s broken up but not too fluffy.
• Add the flour and beat till it is just combined.
• Turn the mixture out onto plastic wrap, and quickly shape into a rectangle about the same size as the previous one.
• Wrap and put in the fridge for at least a half hour.

Instructions:

• After a half hour, take the outter dough out of the fridge.
• On a lightly floured board or counter, roll the dough so that is twice as long as it was before.  Make it a little wider to, so you have a margin to keep the butter from oozing out.
• Take the inner dough out of the fridge, unwrap it, place it on the top off of the dough you just rolled out, and fold the other side over.  Press the edges down.
• Roll this out fairly quickly.
• Roll into a rectangle, that is about 8×15 inches (~legal size).
• Now fold the dough into a book fold. (see below for the types of folds)
• Wrap in clean plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Roll the dough out again (oriented the long way), and book fold it again.
•  Re-wrap and Refrigerate for at least an hour.
• This time, letter fold it (thirds – but see below) – wrap, and refrigerate.
• This was just the last roll out before you use the dough, at this point you can save it for several days in the fridge, or wrap it well in plastic wrap and a freezer bag, and freeze for several months.  (To defrost, place in fridge for a day before using).
• I usually cut the dough in half, and freeze half